A HOMELESS man who is battling alcoholism has been returned to prison after breaching his Asbo for the 14th time in two years.

Magistrates in Guildford jailed Raymond Woods for 12 weeks last Friday (September 10) after hearing he had repeatedly been found in Godalming despite being banned from the area.

His defence solicitor had previously warned the courts to avoid a custodial sentence and instead impose an order making sure Woods got the help he needed.

The lawyer said constant jail terms made things harder for his client, because Woods was always given a sum of cash on his release which he then used to buy liquor before inevitably breaching his Asbo and being arrested again.

The 53-year-old was first given the four-year order in November 2008, and it also prohibits him from entering any church or place of worship in England or Wales.

He was first jailed in 2005 after he broke into Jesus Christ the Redeemer of Mankind Catholic Church in Cranleigh, threatening the first officer on the scene that he would "smash his head on the floor". He was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

By the same year, Woods had committed 168 offences, including 109 thefts, with targets including the Salvation Army, Guildford’s Cancer Research UK shop and churches in Guildford and Godalming.

Days after he was released from jail, he was arrested again on a train to Haslemere after he was drunk and abusive to a ticket inspector, as well as threatening a female passenger that he would "find where she lived and come and get her".

Then in March last year, five months after he was given the Asbo, he was jailed for 12 weeks for breaching it by entering Godalming and falling asleep in the lobby of Lloyds TSB.

Two months after that, and just days after he was released from prison, he was arrested again when police found him sitting on a bench in Queens Road. He was sentenced to eight weeks in prison on that occasion.

Offensive behaviour

In July last year, again just two months later, he was before the courts once more after he was found in Lloyds TSB in Godalming.

At that hearing, his defence solicitor Matthew Vincent urged Guildford magistrates to allow his client to get help for his alcoholism.

Mr Vincent said Woods had been homeless and battling an addiction to drink since 1984, when he lost his father and two brothers within the space of a few months.

On that occasion Woods was spared custody - but on August 25 this year he was found asleep in Godalming High Street and arrested again.

He did not turn up to his court appearance and was then arrested on Village Way in Cranleigh last Thursday (September 9).

"This should send a clear message that breaching the conditions of an Asbo is something the police and the court take extremely seriously," said Jo Grimshaw, anti-social behaviour manager at Surrey Police.

"Applying for an Asbo is not something we do lightly.

"Woods has been verbally warned on many occasions regarding his conduct, by both the local policing team and his support workers.

"He continued to behave in an offensive manner and did not take advantage of the assistance offered to him so we felt we had no other option."

The order remains in force until November 12, 2012. The conditions prevent Woods from entering any church or place of worship except for the sole purpose of attending a religious service or unless he is invited, entering Godalming town centre, or behaving in a manner likely to cause alarm, harassment or distress.